Does anyone have any tips on how best to do this? Horse is comfortable with clippers, has a hunter clip at the moment. Now that it’s getting warmer I’d like to clip his face so the clip blends better.
Don’t switch hands with clippers…you apply different pressure and it will be uneven. If you get a clipper line, go at a 45 degree ange to it rathrr than just going directly over it. Give the horse something to chew, to get the hollows above eyes…they puff out when the horse chews, making them easier to clip.
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Horses should be starting to shed now. why not just wait and not risk a bad clip job.
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I would just use a pair of adjustable grooming clippers set on the longest setting and clean up his chin (I shave their chins pretty short, back blade over his jowls to shorten the hairs. Trim the fuzz that grows around the forelock and if he has a white blaze and his face isn’t super wooly…I would clip the white on his face. When the white hair is long it makes them look a lot scruffier than the dark hair. Also trim the ears. You’d be surprised by how much better they look by just doing a little trimming and not clipping the whole head
Or, just leave it be and let him shed out.
Or go for the “distinctive” look! https://www.facebook.com/molly.c.mccown/posts/10218881855369692
Whatever you do, it will grow out.
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Bit the bullet and did it! He was a good boy and I managed to not to hack off his forelock by accident or get hair in his eyes. Learned that we’re going to need some prescription assistance to get his ears done, though. If that’s the only objection he has to clipping, I’ll take it. :lol:
Are you trimming INSIDE his ears? I would object too! Fuzz inside keeps out dirt and insects. I hold ears shut and trim the fuzzy edges , most horses tolerate this fine and it tidies them sufficiently
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Nope, just trying to tidy up around the base of his ears and the edges. I’m leaving the insides fuzzy - bug season isn’t too far away and that helps keep them out of his ears.
Are you trimming INSIDE his ears? I would object too! Fuzz inside keeps out dirt and insects. I hold ears shut and trim the fuzzy edges , most horses tolerate this fine and it tidies them sufficiently
What we call whiskers around the muzzle and eyes are a sensory organ called vibrissae. Unlike whiskers they are hollow with a nerve and blood supply. They have a function, which is to enable the horse to sense things near the eyes and around the muzzle that they can’t see. It is against the law in Germany and several other countries in Europe, to trim them, along with the hair in the ears. The ears can be cleaned up with a clamshell trim, which is what demidq does. In the summer I rub the inside of the ears with my thumb to take out bug bite crusts and keep them tidy. I can also check for ticks on the poll…
There is an excellent book call Evidence-Based Horsemanship by Dr Stephen Peters and Martin Black. They are a neuroscientist and well- known trainer respectively. Dr Peters has done a lot of investigation into the horse’s brain function. They did an interesting and informative session at Equine Affaire a number of years ago which included information about vibrissae. That is where I learned the term and it clarified why they should not be trimmed.
There were a number of covers on Dressage Today where the horse’s whiskers were quite clearly intact. Some were international FEI Grand Prix champions.
